I am back with a paper graphic project, this time a quilled Egyptian cat statue of Bast or Bastet.

I got the idea to quill the Egyptian cat after I saw Agatha Cristie’s Poirot – The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb. At the end of the episode, the Belgian detective brings his secretary, Miss Lemon, a small, black statue of a cat as a souvenir. I have always been passionately curious about Ancient Egypt and now I wonder how come it took me so long to try to quill something related to it?

Bast or Bastet is a feline goddess of ancient Egyptian religion, initially depicted as a woman with the head of a lion. She was also known as the Eye of Ra and she was the patron of Sun, cats, women and secrets. Later on, Bastet became to be represented as a woman with the head of a cat or simply as a cat. After the contact with the Greeks, she changed to a moon goddess, probably because the Greeks associated her with Artemis. Bast’s importance in the Egyptian pantheon might be due to the great value placed on the domesticated cat by the Egyptians. The cats were highly revered because of their ability to combat vermin (like rats, mice and snakes) and some of them were even mummified and buried next to their owners.

I went with black and gold for this project, which I think creates a nice contrast against the white background. For the collar I used a beautiful metallic shimmering yellow paper. I’ve had these papers together with a shimmering white and navy blue for ages and I’m happy I finally got the chance to use at least one of them.

The total size of the frame is 17cm * 24cm and the border is 2cm wide. I am always following Inna’s tutorial when I have to make a paper frame because it’s so clearly explained. I used 120gsm paper for mine, but I strongly recommend a heavier one.

Next to the quilled Egyptian cat, I hand wrote the name “Bast” in hieroglyphs using a gold metallic gel ink pen and enclosed it an a cartouche which indicates that the text is a royal name.

I hope you liked my version of the Egyptian cat! Thank you for your visit!

Oh Manuela, I love Bastet (and all things ancient Egyptian)! This is a beautiful Bastet! Especially love the ear. Do you have any tutorials on paper graphic on your site? I often wondered how the backing paper is cut so that it doesn’t show outside the strips. What width strips did you use here?
BTW, have you seen the Cleopatra on Quilling Cafe by Anastasia Wahalatantiri? It’s in featured photos along with your sunflowers 🙂

Zoe, thank you very much! I love all things related to ancient Egypt, too!
Yes, I have a tutorial on quillography or paper graphic: http://manuk.ro/en/2013/01/quillography-tutorial/. You’ll find some guidelines to help you get started, I hope it helps! I used 5mm wide paper strips (I don’t know I forgot to mention that, I always share the technical details of my work).
Oh, yes, I know Annie’s exquisitely quilled Cleopatra! I am a huge fan of her work and absolutely love everything she creates! But I didn’t know about my sunflowers, thank you for letting me know! 🙂
Hugs!

Manu, the name in hieroglyphics is a pure stroke of brilliance! I love the little story! I didn’t know Greeks associated Bastet with Artemis! 🙂 Thanks for the history bit! ANd needless to say, perfection shining through!

Thank you, Pritesh! The name in hieroglyphics wasn’t in the original design. I decided to add it after I framed the project because I felt like there was something missing in that corner.
You know me, I always do a little bit of background reading on the subject I’m quilling! 🙂